Sneak-Her Game: Women That Changed Basketball Sneakers

From Sheryl Swoopes to Maya Moore.

In 2011, Jordan Brand officially announced its signing of University of Connecticut standout and Minnesota Lynx rookie Maya Moore​. The multi-year deal was reportedly worth between $3-4 million dollars and made Moore the first female Jordan basketball endorser. Moore was also the first woman basketball player to grab headlines with a footwear and apparel deal since Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker joined the Adidas team in 2008.

After the announcement, Moore and Jordan trended near the top of Twitter for the entire day, giving an idea of how big the news was for the parties involved and woman endorsements as a whole. Some questioned whether Moore would receive a signature shoe as part of the deal, but Jordan Brand reps have confirmed with Sole Collector that signature product is not currently in the works.

In the wake of this historic deal, we thought it appropriate to take a look back at some of the pioneering women that impacted basketball footwear and paved the way for Moore's Jordan deal. An obvious name that comes to mind is the legendary Sheryl Swoopes, who became the first woman to have a signature sneaker when she linked up with Nike in 1995. Since then, players like Cynthia Cooper, Rebecca Lobo, and Chamique Holdsclaw have all had shoes released bearing their names.

Read on for a look at the short list of signature basketball shoes for women that have released in the last three decades.

Sheryl Swoopes

Sheryl Swoopes—often referred to as the female Michael Jordan—was the first-ever player signed in the WNBA. She's unquestionably one of the best woman players to ever go to work on the hardwood. Swoopes played college ball at Texas Tech, where she led the Lady Raiders to a national championship in 1993. That same year, Swoopes won the Naismith College Player of the Year and WBCA Player of the Year awards, was named Division I All-American, and took home honors as the 1993 Sportswoman of the Year.

Just six weeks after giving birth to her son in 1996, Sheryl returned to play the last third of the inaugural WNBA season for the Houston Comets. She'd help lead the team to the first of four championships. Swoopes has also won the WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards three times each. In addition to her pro league success, she contributed to three Olympic gold medal runs by the U.S. Women's Basketball team in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

Of all the women to have signature basketball product, Swoopes' Nike line is the most famous. The Air Swoopes launched in the fall of 1995 and was backed by a substantial ad campaign. The first woman to have a basketball shoe named after her, Swoopes saw her signature line expand through many different models years after its debut.

Rebecca Lobo

You may have heard Rebecca Lobo commentating on WNBA or women's college basketball games in recent years, but in the 1990s Lobo was one of the ladies that increased the overall popularity of women's basketball, thus enabling the WNBA to become a reality. She first achieved national stardom as a member of the UCONN Lady Huskies, where she led the team to a 35-0 undefeated season and national championship in 1995. Lobo won the 1995 Naismith and College Player of the Year awards, was inducted into the inaugural "Huskies of Honor" class, was named first team All-American for both sports and academics, and was acknowledged as the 1995 Sportswoman of the Year.

When her popularity was at an all-time high, Lobo signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Reebok, becoming the first woman athlete to sign a shoe deal with the brand. She wore Reeboks through the 1998 season, including her own signature shoe called the Lobo.

Lisa Leslie

For the better part of two decades, Lisa Leslie was the face of women's basketball. Leslie first grabbed national headlines when she scored 101 points in one half of play in what would be her last high school game, forcing the opposing team to forfeit. She continued her domination at the University of Southern California, where she became the nation's premier paint player. Lisa averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds in 120 college games, receiving Freshman of the Year honors in 1991 and the National Player of the Year award in 1994.

Leslie's Olympic and international resumes are about as impressive as it gets. She participated in the Olympic Trials at the age of 20 and went on to win Olympic gold with Team USA in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. Even more, she was part of the 2002 FIBA World Championship team that also won gold.

Leslie was drafted to the Los Angeles Sparks in the allocation phase of the inaugural WNBA Draft. She led the Sparks to WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002. Her list of WNBA achievements is endless: she was a three-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, ten-time All-WNBA, eight-time All-Star, three-time All-Star MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and more. Leslie called an end to her illustrious career at the end of the 2009 season.

With Leslie's worldwide notoriety came a Nike endorsement deal signed between the 1996 Olympics and first WNBA season. She wore Nike sneakers throughout her career, including signatures like the Nike Air Max Highup and LLS, as well as player exclusive colorways of the Huarache 2K5, Battlegrounds, and Blue Chip 2.

Cynthia Cooper

On the short list of women's basketball players that can be considered the all-time best, Cynthia Cooper's name has to be thrown in the mix. She'll forever be remembered as the cornerstone of a Houston Comets dynasty that won the first four WNBA Championships, with Cooper named Finals MVP in each run. She was a two-time WNBA MVP and had a 92-game double-digit scoring streak between 1997 and 2000. The only thing that interrupted Cooper's streak of dominance was timing, with the WNBA being established when she was already 33 years old.

Prior to the WNBA, Cooper had a tremendous amount of success on the college and international level. She won two national championships at USC, an Olympic gold medal in 1988, an Olympic bronze medal in 1992, a Pan American gold medal in 1987, and a FIBA World Championship in 1990. During the ten years she played in the Italian leagues, she was the league's leading scorer eight times, and finished second the other two years. In 1987, she was the MVP of the European All-Star team. She was also named to the All-Star team of the Italian leagues in 1996–1997. All of these on-court accomplishment resulted in an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 alongside players like Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen.

After announcing that she'd be joining in the WNBA in December of 1996, Cooper signed a two-year endorsement deal with Nike. She'd go on to sign a three-year extension in 1997 after Nike liked what they saw from her. In that time, Cooper was the face and name behind several Nike models, including the Air Max Shake 'Em Up, Air C14, and Air Flight C14.

Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley became a familiar basketball name as the point guard for the University of Virginia back in the early '90s. During her time there, she led the Cavaliers to four NCAA Tournaments, three Final Fours, and one NCAA Title Game. She was named the ACC Female Athlete of the Year and the National Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992. After graduating, Staley played professional basketball in Europe and the ABL before making the jump to the WNBA in 1999. She played 7 WNBA seasons, reaching the Finals once with the Charlotte Sting in 2001. In between seasons, she won three Olympic gold medals with the U.S. Women's Basketball team in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

The immense popularity of the 1996 Olympic Team landed several women on its roster endorsement deals with Nike, Staley included. When she made the jump to the WNBA in 1999, she was the recipient of her own signature shoe, the Nike Air Zoom S5. It was followed by the release of the S5 II.

Nikki McCray

Now an assistant coach for the University of South Carolina, Nikki McCray is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with a reputation for being one of the best shutdown defenders of all time. She was a world-class baller with experience in college at Tennessee, on the international level, and in American Basketball League before joining the WNBA in 1998. She played in the WNBA for eight seasons and was named an All-Star in three of them.

In 1999, Nikki joined the Fila Basketball team, signing a $1 million dollar deal and receiving her own signature shoe in the process. The Fila Nikki Delta Basketball was a shoe that she personally requested be made for both men and women to wear.

Chamique Holdsclaw

In the mid-'90s, Chamique Holdsclaw led Queens' Christ the King High School to four straight New York State Championships. That was only the beginning of what would be a long and fruitful hoops career for the Queens native. She then moved on to the University of Tennessee, where she played under the legendary Pat Summit and led the Lady Vols to the first-ever three-peat in women's college basketball. She was also named Naismith Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Century. In 1999, Chamique was selected first overall in the WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. She took home Rookie of the Year honors and won an Olympic gold medal the following year in Sydney. Holdsclaw is a six-time WNBA All-Star who spent her last year in the league with the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Holdsclaw was signed to a five-year deal with Nike back in 1999. The deal was said to exceed $1 million dollars and was the richest for a woman basketball player at the time. Under that deal, Chamique received a signature Nike shoe called the BBMiqueShox. She also wore several Nike player exclusives and continues to wear the Swoosh to this day.

Candace Parker

Candace Parker is probably the most marketable and recognized player in today's WNBA. Little sister to NBA vet Anthony Parker, Candace was a hoops sensation all the way back in high school, where she was a three-time player of the year in Illinois and became the first female to announce her NCAA verbal commitment on ESPN News. She then took her talents to the University of Tennessee, leading the Lady Vols to two national titles and winning the Wooden Award twice. Parker was then drafted by the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and became the first player to win the WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year Awards in the same season in 2008.

Immediately after being selected first overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft, Candace signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Adidas Basketball, continuing a relationship she had with the brand as a member of the Lady Vols. Candace saw her first signature shoe, the TS Ace Commander, release in multiple colorways in 2010. Her follow-up sig, the Ace Versatility, released in the summer of 2011.

Maya Moore

Maya Moore has been a force in the WNBA since entering the league in 2011. She's a four-time All-Star, a Finals MVP, a scoring champ, and has three championships to her name. Of course championships aren't new territory for Moore, who won two in her college days as part of the perennially dominant UCONN women's team. Her international record shines as well—she's got two Olympic gold medals and two more golds from the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

Since signing Moore in 2011, Jordan Brand has kept her footwear rotation stocked with exclusives. The player exclusive Air Jordan 23s seen below have been a highlight, along with the Air Jordan 11 given to her in 2014.

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